


The adventure of the empty house

by Km2c



Category: Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Family time, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 09:48:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6149633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Km2c/pseuds/Km2c
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To discover his siblings whereabouts, detective Tiberius Blackthorn needs to form an uneasy alliance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The adventure of the empty house

**Author's Note:**

> Entry for the Lady Midnight Week  
> Day 2 - Family Theme
> 
> More info here: http://malcolm-faede.tumblr.com/post/138850634144/lead-up-to-lady-midnight-week

Tiberius wondered briefly how he had gotten into this situation. Tavvy was screaming his head off in his high chair and the noise gave him a headache. The bright blue plastic plate was turned upside down, baby cereals smeared everywhere.

The ten-year-old looked desperately around. Where were his sisters? Livvy and Dru were women, handling a baby came naturally to them, didn’t it? He thought of Jules then, and mused that maybe it came naturally to everyone but him, like so many other things. “What do you want Octavian? You don’t like your food?”

Of course, the only answer he got was a prolonged wail. Tiberius felt annoyed. Tavvy was two! He should be able to talk! He and Livvy had talked at that age! His little brother was either too stupid or too lazy to talk to them, though. He only used words when he wanted something specific, which usually meant “Jules!”, “Memma”, or “Dru”.

Sometimes he called for “Dough”, a stuffed orca whale Jules had given him last Christmas. Julian had been positive it would help with Tavvy’s nightmares and since then, Tavvy hardly went anywhere without it.

But right now he could not spot the furry thing anywhere. It was probably in the nursery. Ty could go and retrieve it, but that would require leaving Tavvy to himself. And Uncle Arthur had told him to watch his brother for a few minutes. He had been in the middle of feeding the baby when Diana had called for him and he’d rushed out of the kitchen, almost running down Ty who had come down to get a glass of juice.

Tiberius hoped his uncle would be back soon. The cries were getting on his last nerve! A look of despair on his face, he turned back to his baby brother. “I can go get Dough for you, but you have to stop crying first!”

The toddler hiccupped and shook his head wildly from side to side. He had quieted somewhat, but was still bawling.

Ty counted silently to twenty and back, hugging himself as he bounced back and forth on the balls of his feet. If only his brother was here! Julian knew exactly how to handle the baby. “Do you want Julian?”

The tiny mouth paused mid-wail. Large blue-green eyes stared at him. With the eyes and dark hair, Tavvy looked like a younger version of their brother, whereas Ty did not resemble either of them. It was another thing that made him an outsider, even in his own family.

Tavvy hiccupped again, then opened his mouth for what Ty feared was another round of crying. What came out instead was: “Jules?”

Go figure. Tavvy had become greatly attached to their brother in the past few months. They were literally joined at the hip, with Julian carrying his baby brother everywhere and Octavian starting to fuzz when set down. He’d put up with it as long as someone entertained him, but leave him to his own devices and he would toddle back to Jules. Or Emma. Or Dru. Ty had noted with clinical interest that Tavvy never went to him or Livvy. He’d let himself be carried around by her, yes, but he never actively sought either of them out. Ty had done research on his brand new computer to find out more about breeding, but so far he had not found a suitable explanation.

Livvy figured it was because Tavvy thought of Emma and Julian as his parents, which had left Ty baffled and angry. Had Tavvy forgotten their real father already? Apparently a baby’s memory was different from an adult’s, and far shorter.

“Jules!” Tavvy hollered, and Ty flinched at the volume. When there was no answering call, or the sound of running feet, Tavvy’s bottom lip started to quiver and he burst into tears again. “JULES!”

Tiberius clamped his hands ober his ears; the sounds were too loud, too piercing! “JULIAN!” He added his own shout to his brother’s and, by some miracle, that seemed to shut Tavvy up completely. He gaped openly at him, with wide eyes, in the way only little kids could.

Tiberius turned his gaze away, breathing hard. He had to calm down. He clenched his eyes shut and mentally counted to a hundred then. Twenty was not nearly enough for this situation!

When he opened his eyes again, Tavvy was still staring at him. He had gone eerie quiet. Tiberius watched him warily. What now?

Then, slowly, Tavvy lifted his pudgy little arms. Ty had learned the gesture meant his little brother wanted to be picked up. Confused, he turned around, but there was no one in the kitchen but them. And Tavvy still had his arms up, reaching out insistently. For him. “Ty!”

The ten-year-old felt his jaw drop. “You want me to pick you up?”

“Up!” Octavian echoed excitedly. “Tavvy up! Ty pick Tavvy up!”

Tiberius thought that this was the longest sentence he had ever heard from his little brother. He grimaced at the sticky little hands. Ty didn’t like physical contact, and Tavvy’s arms and mouth were covered with food.

Then again, if it kept him quiet… he snatched a cloth from the counter, wet it and carefully wiped the baby’s skin clean. Tavvy scowled and pushed, but he was outmatched.

With a satisfied smirk, he lifted the squirming runt out of his high chair. The toddler was heavy and Ty had to place him on his hip the way he had seen Julian do it countless times to keep hold of him.

Tavvy bunched a fistful of his shirt between pudgy fingers and put his head against his brother’s chest. Ty pursed his lips. “You happy now?”

Octavian looked up at him and asked: “Jules?”

Tiberius rolled his eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You are impossible. Fine, let’s go look for Julian. Any idea where he might be?”

Tavvy gave him a toothy grin. “Memma?”

Ty chuckled. “Brilliant deduction, Watson! Let’s check the training room.”


End file.
